Improvement in lawn-mowers



v B) L.- WALKER. Improvement inLawn-Mewers.

NO. [3l-,726. Patented Sem-2451872.l

1 'ITN,IranA STATES? PATENT rier-Ion.

BENJAMIN L. WALKER. or sine sine, New ronx.

lMPRovEMEN'T IN LAwNj-MowERs.

- Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 131,726.5, datedSeptember 24, 1872; antedated September w-hat are known as rotary handlawn-mowers,:

though it may be applicable, wholly or in part, to other rotarymowing-machines. It.

consists in the arrangementof the cutter-reel to whichthe rotarycuttersare attached, upon the same axle with the wheels of the machine,

and in a novel arrangement of the. fixed cutter, in combination withwhich the rotary cutters operate, whereby the cutting of the grass to amore nearly uniform length on uneven. or rolling ground isei'ected. `Italso consists` ina novel arrangementof gearing, driving the rotarycutter-reel withk very little friction;

also, innovelI means of providing for the ad- 'justment of the cutterstocut closer to or not so close to the ground.

to the axle, of a hand lawn-mower with my improvements applied; Fig. 2isa plan view of the same;` Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the sametaken lengthwise and centrally through the reel and wheels; and-Fig. 4is an inside face view` of theidrivin g-wheelan'd correspondj ing faceview of the gearing for driving the reel.

Similarnletters of reference indicate corresponding parts the severalfigures.

` A is `the driving-wheel, `and B a supportin wheel of` correspondingsize, secured one on one end and the other on-the other end of an axle,C. `These wheels are hollow, the cavities being on their inner sides,and each has fitted loosely .withinits rim a disk, D. These `disksaretted loosely to the axle 0, and have rmly secured to them two arms, EE, to

`which is secured a cross-bar, F, which is parallel with the axle, andto which is secured the ltongue Gjby which the machine is driven, the ioperator taking hold of this tongue and pushingthe machine beforehim.The disks D D,

` arms E\E,and cross-bar F may be considered as the framing of themachine. is the xed cutter-bar, to which the fixed cutter a is attached,extending across the lower part of the space between the wheels, andbolted firmly tothe lower parts of the disks D D by a screw-bolt, b, ateach end, the said bolts pass` ing through slots in the disks andscrewing into tapped holes in lugs c c, which areprovided on the ends'ofthe bar, and which are fitted between guides dd (see Fig. l) on thefaces of the disks. This mode of attachment 0f the cutter-bar providesfor its adjustment nearer to` or further from the axle, that the rotarycutters may work more or less close to it. The cutter ais bolted to theupper face of the bar H, and presents its edge in a forward direction. Iism the cutter-reel, made with arms at each end of its hub and havingspirally-arranged bars e eattached to the said arms, and extending allacross it for the attachment of the cutters ff, which are of .ordinaryconstruction. The hub of the reel extends the whole length of thatportion of the axle between-the disks D D, and is bored to. y ,y fitloosely toy the axle C, that it may rotate Figure l, in the accompanyingdrawing, rep resents a vertical section taken at right angles thereon.The drivin g-wheel Ahas formed on uorsecured to it, within its rim, aninternallygearing is all inclosed between the 'drivingwheel and its diskD. The hub of the gear Misl extended into a counterbore in the adjacentend of the reel, and has teeth i cut in its inner end to make it form aportion of a ragwheel clutch, the other portion j of which is f1ttedloosely to the axle, and so fitted into the reel Y with a feather, k, asshown in Fig. 4, or otherwise, that it may'slide freely in and out ofgear with the' gear M, but that when it turns the reel is compelled toturn with it, and a spring, l, is applied within the reel at the innerend, of the portion 7' of the clutch, which tends to keep it in gear.

The operation is as follows: As the machine is pushed along over theground the WheelsA B are caused to rotate by the traction and to producerotary motion of the axle. The rotation ofthe internally-toothedspur-gear J with the driving-wheel A produces the rotation of the gearK, through it the rotation of the gears L and M, and the last-mentionedwheel transmits, through the clutch t j, its rotary motion to the reel,by which the cutters f f are caused, acting in combination with the ixedcutter a, to produce their cutting operation. The motion thustransmitted to the cutter-reel is in the same direction with that of theaxle, and hence the friction of the reel on the axle is much less thanif their rotation were in opposite directions, or than if the axle didnot rotate at all. In case of the machine being drawn backward thespring l allows the beveled teeth of the clutch to pass each otherwithout giving motion to the reel; and, in case of the machine beingstopped suddenly, the said spring allows a similar action of' the teethof the clutch and allows the reel to continue its rotation until itsmomentum expires, and thereby prevents injury to the gearing, whichmight otherwise result from a sudden stoppage.

In order to provide for the cutting of the grass more or less close tothe ground the cross-bar F, to which the tongue is attached, is madeadjustable higher or lower in slots m (see Fig. l) provided in the saidarms for its reception, the bar being squared to t the said slots insuch manner that it will not turn therein, and being secured therein bynuts n n fitted to screws formed on its ends, the said nuts clamping thearms against shoulders ou the bar. By lowering the bar F the cutter isthrown forward and downward to a position more nearly under the axle,and so brought nearer to the ground and the cutting of the grass causedto be more close; and by raising the bar an opposite ei'ect is produced.

Owing to the position of the cutter a being brought so nearly under theaxle by the arrangement ot the reel on the main or driving axle theaccidental variations in the axle bebetween the tongue and the groundthat occur in running over hilly, uneven, or rolling land, have a veryslight effect on the position of the cutter a, relatively to the ground,compared with what they have when the rotary cutter-reel works on aseparate axle; and, besides, the arrangement ofthe reel on the main axlemakes the machine simpler and more compact.

Claims.

l. The arrangement of the rotary cutterreel upon the saine axle with thedriving and supporting wheels of the machine, substantially as and forthe purpose herein described.

2. The xed cutter a arranged directly below the axle of the driving orsupporting wheels on disks or carriers D D hung directly on the saidaxle, in combination with rotary cutters on a reel rotating on the saidaxle, substantially as herein described.

3. In combination with the cutter-reel rotating upon the main or drivingaxle, I claim the internally-toothed gear J on the drivingwheel, theloose gear M on the axle connected by a ratchet-clutch with the reel,and the intermediate gears L M attached to the disk or cutter-barcarrier D, substantially as herein described.

4. In combination with the fixed cutter a, arranged as described, andthe cutter-reel rotating on the main axle, I claimthe bar F ad-`justable in the slotted arms E E attached to the cutter-bar carriers DD, substantially'as herein described, and for the purpose set forth.

BENJN. L. WALKER. Witnesses:

WM. M. WALKER, HENRY T. BROWN.

